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In his September 2 edition of Marketing Magazine's "Street Talk", Mark Etting wrote --about receiving a call from a polling company on behalf of a car company-- when asked whether he considered himself "to be heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual?": Curious about the gay question, I said, "I'm just trying to put that in the big scheme of things in terms of buying cars...?" Clearly, while a voice for the marketing community at large, Mark Etting needs to brush up on gay advertising in Canada. The issues of marriage, progeny and sexuality are three different points. You can be married, with children and not gay. You can be married, with children and gay. Married, without children and not gay. Not married, without children and gay. Not married, without children and not gay. Each is a separate demographic profile point, but all can, in fact, provide critical insight to a brand guardian's job of ultimately selling more cars. The car company in question could have been Volkswagen, Volvo, Jaguar, Subaru, Saturn, Saab, BMW, Daimler Chrysler Jeep or Ford Focus, however, the likelihood is that it was another as each automotive company mentioned has previously targeted the gay market, including gay advertising in Canada. Saab, for example, has been in major gay U.S. publications since 1994, while the Ford Focus and Jeep have to date targeted only European publications. In Canada, both Jaguar and Subaru have advertised in the major publications the gay market has to offer. A Volkswagen has been featured as a contest giveaway in the Maritimes, and if you flip through the pages of Xtra or Fab Magazine and other Canadian gay publications, a cursory glance will reveal dealership ads for Cadillac, Mazda, Volkswagen, Subaru, Kia and others. That explains the who of it, but not the why. As a brand manager for the unknown car company doing the polling, it could be that he or she has noticed what other car companies have already figured out...There's a "previously unidentified" market opening up. Or, he or she could simply have noticed the sheer number of companies that have preceded hers and wanted simple, tested confirmation for her hypothesis. It could also be that this particular brand manager has read some of the market research available and has realized that the gay aesthetic is about image. A market segment of early adopters and influencers with disposable income who are, by their own admission, brand conscious, particularly when it comes to brands advertised in gay publications and venues. These are afterall, gay men who are willing to spend $1,000 per year on a gym membership alone. Image really is everything. So what better place for a Jaguar, BMW or Saab ad? And it's not just gay men automotive brand managers are targeting. One of the most succcessful automotive campaigns in recent years is Subaru, who has targeted the lesbian audience since 1996, based on market research findings from as far back as 1993. Subaru has recently added tennis star and out lesbian Martina Navratilova to their roster as a spokesperson for the brand. And targeting lesbians with car ads has worked: Subaru is one of the most popular vehicles for lesbians. For those who don't have all that disposable income, gay publications attract a younger audience set who may be too active to see the great ads on tv, or the newspaper spreads touting the Kia or the Ford Focus. They are a subset finding their own identity which may well exist outside the "typical" extracurricular activities of their straight peers, and looking to these publications instead of their college newspapers. Finally, the brand manager responsible for the poll could have been looking for a correlation between household income and sexual orientation to see whether a pending marketing budget might warrant an expenditure on gay publications. Perhaps the better question is: What car company wouldn't want to ask about sexuality? About Wilde Marketing Wilde Marketing is Canada's gay advertising and marketing agency offering comprehensive advertising, marketing communications, strategic and public relation services to companies who understand the value of engaging gay consumers in this country. The company is located at 2722 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4N 2H9, 416.821.3074 phone, 416.483.3513 fax. For more information, email Wilde Marketing. If you'd like to see advertising pertaining to the gay and lesbian market, by far the Internet's best resource is the Commercial Closet. |
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© 2002 Wilde Marketing - Gay Advertising Canada |